Scepters (64 page)

“Where
did you—”

Alucius
opened the chest. Inside were perhaps twenty golds.

“Overcaptain…
note that there were twenty golds in the chest in the colonels bedchamber.”

Lynat
frowned, clearly puzzled as Alucius relocked the chest.

Then
Alucius led the way back down to the locked door to the cellar. He looked at
Lynat. “Would you care to unlock it?”

“I
don’t have a key. You’ll have to break it down if you want to open it.” A
certain smugness permeated Lynat’s voice.

“Oh,
I think not.” Again, Alucius stepped forward and took out a key, the one to his
own quarters. He stepped to the door, close enough that no one could see, and
used his Talent on the lock. It was a heavy lock, and he was perspiring
slightly when he finally turned the lever and opened the door.

Below
was dark.

Alucius
let Holgart step forward with a striker to light the lamp on the wall. Then he
went down the stairs. Lynat followed, reluctantly.

On
one side of the open space were several rows of barrels, all with markings
showing receipt by the Guard. On the other side, neatly set in racks, were more
than two hundred bottles of wine.

“Overcaptain,
if you would note all the barrels and their contents.”

“Yes,
sir,” replied Sanasus.

“And
make a note of the number of bottles of wine.”

On
a rack on the west wall were four rifles, all Guard issue, as well as another
four sabres.

Alucius
surveyed the clay-floored room slowly, using his Talent. Then he nodded. The
stone walls in the center, ostensibly the support for the fireplaces above,
actually concealed a single room. He moved toward the stones, seeming to
inspect each area, but in fact using his Talent to find the hidden doorway and
access.

“Here.
Yes.” The door opened.

As
it did, Alucius could hear the hard swallow from Lynat.

Inside
the small room was a built-in cabinet against one stone wall. On top of the
cabinet were two locked chests. Before addressing the chests, Alucius checked
the cabinet. It held a number of items, such as an antique compass, some
tarnished silver buttons, and a small jewelry case in which were a golden
necklace with a single emerald, two gold rings, and a diamond-shaped golden
brooch with small diamonds at each corner. Alucius replaced the jewelry case
quickly, thinking of Wendra as he did.

He
straightened and took a deep breath. There were no signs of keys to the chest
locks. So… he would have to use Talent.

In
time, both chests stood open. Each was filled with golds, and the majority were
fresh-minted Lanachronan pieces, similar to those sent in the payroll and
supply chests that Alucius had brought in the wagon from Tempre.

“Sanasus?”

“Yes,
sir?”

“Would
you kindly go up to the study and write out a receipt to Lynat here, for two
chests filled with Lanachronan golds, presumed diverted from the Northern Guard
treasury, and taken pending further investigation.”

“You…
had better count them, sir.”

The
last thing Alucius wanted to do was to count the golds, but he could see the
overcaptain’s point. “You’re right. Lynat, you and I will count them, and you
will sign the receipt once we agree on the numbers.”

Lynat
looked as if he wished to protest, but finally only nodded.

In
the end, one chest contained exactly two hundred golds, the other precisely one
hundred sixty-one—the total an astounding amount for a man who had not had a
coin to his name six years earlier, and whose highest monthly pay was but four
golds.

Sanasus
had also added several lines to the receipt, indicating that the Guard had
noted, but not taken, six rifles and six sabres, five barrels of flour, two of
rice, two of potatoes, and three of dried fruit, and that the Guard had neither
damaged nor removed any other property or goods on the premises.

Alucius
signed two copies of the receipt, as did Lynat, then left one copy with Weslyn’s
son.

“I’ll
be sending lancers and a wagon to reclaim the barrels in the cellar. Your father
had the right to use them so long as he was colonel, but they’re not his
property. They belong to the Guard.”

“I
understand that, Colonel.” Lynat’s words were cold. “You do what you must.”

“I
will, but I deeply wish it had not been necessary.”

Lynat
said nothing.

Alucius
nodded. “We’ll not trouble you more, except for the barrels.”

The
blond man offered the slightest nod, then watched as the two officers and the
lancers left.

“Now
what do you think, Sanasus?” asked Alucius, as they rode back eastward toward
Guard headquarters.

“Worse
than I feared, Colonel.”

“We
may have to use those golds, but we’ll hold off, if we can, until I get word
from Marshal Frynkel and the Lord-Protector. Tomorrow, you’ll have to go back
and reclaim the barrels of supplies. That’s too much to let go, but we didn’t
have a wagon today.”

“Yes,
sir.”

“Don’t
worry. You can take a squad of lancers.”

“You
think the barrels will still be there?”

“If
they’re not, Lynat could be in as much trouble as his father.” Then, if matters
turned sour, so could Alucius. Raiding a private house to reclaim stolen
property wasn’t exactly the way to start out as the new commander of the
Northern Guard. But then, allowing three hundred sixty-one golds to vanish from
the accounts wouldn’t have been exactly to his credit. Either way, he had
troubles.

“Oh…
we’ll need to get new locks for the strong rooms and put these chests in there.”

“Yes,
sir.”

No
one spoke for the rest of the ride back to headquarters. Overhead, the sky
darkened, and flakes of snow began to fall.

Feran
was waiting as Alucius dismounted. “What did you find?”

“Outside
of six Northern Guard rifles and sabres, barrels of flour, rice, potatoes, and
dried fruit, all marked for the Guard, not much. Except two chests with
something like three hundred sixty golds, two-thirds of them fresh-minted
Lanachronan coins.”

“That
many? Seems stupid.”

“They
were in a hidden strong room in the cellar,” Alucius added.

Feran
nodded. “You have this way of finding hidden rooms and passages.”

Alucius
started to shrug, but the pain in his arm stopped the gesture almost before he
started. “We do what we can.”

The
rest of the afternoon was a blur to Alucius. He and Feran finished briefing the
officers and had them tell their own lancers. Then Alucius addressed all the
lancers briefly, stressing not only the irregularities noted by Marshal
Frynkel, but that Alucius himself had started as a militia scout and that his
family still lived in Iron Stem. After the address, they reworked the post
watch schedules and installed some of the more dependable lancers from Fifth
Company to take over Nadalt’s duties. Then Alucius inspected the entire post,
yard by yard. Somewhere along the way, he ate some cheese and travel bread.

It
was well after sunset when Komur accompanied Alucius up to the commander’s post
quarters.

“Hope
you didn’t mind, sir,” Komur said as he opened the door to the upper-level
quarters, “but while you were organizing things, I took the liberty of having
my crew pack up Colonel Weslyn’s few things and clean up the quarters best we
could on short notice. Linens are clean, if spare.” He lit the oil lamp in the
front foyer.

Alucius
walked from the small foyer into a large sitting room, with a modest and
ancient coal stove that radiated heat. Komur also lit a lamp, one of a pair set
on a side table. Off the sitting room to the right was a study, with dark oak
shelves built into the walls, and even with books taking up perhaps half the
shelf space. The wide writing table was empty and was set so that it overlooked
the side courtyard. Alucius turned and crossed the sitting room to a large
dining room, with a table capable of seating ten to fifteen people.

Behind
the dining room was the kitchen, and an alcove and a table for more intimate
meals. A large coal stove dominated the kitchen, also radiating warmth, and
Alucius was glad to see that there was a rear pantry and an outside exit that
led to a separate rear staircase. He retraced his steps to the sitting room and
the double doors that led to a rear hall and one small bedroom, a bathing
chamber with a jakes, and a larger master bedchamber, a good five yards by
eight. The dark hangings were over the windows, leaving the chamber gloomy, and
although he could see well enough, he lit a wall lamp for the warmth of the illumination.

The
windows all had inside shutters, as well as deep blue hangings that could be
untied and allowed to cover shutters and windows. The floors were polished dark
oak, covered with large carpets of what looked to be a Dramurian design, with
intricate interweavings of geometric patterns. Sections of the carpets in the
bedchamber, the sitting room, and the dining room had worn places, and there
were a few ancient spots and frayed edges.

Still…
the quarters, with some more cleaning, were most livable and far better than
any officers’ quarters where Alucius had been permanently stationed. While
compared to Alucius’s stead house, the quarters were small, but they were not
cramped.

As
Nadalt had told Alucius, Weslyn hadn’t used the commandant’s quarters much.
That was also clear from the fact that Komur had been able to remove Weslyn’s
possessions so quickly.

“These
seem quite livable,” Alucius said to the undercaptain. “I appreciate your
efforts, especially under the circumstances.” He winced as he realized that he’d
used Alyniat’s phrase, the one that had grated on him.

“Begging
your pardon, Colonel, but I’d a scrubbed the floors on my own knees to get back
a fighting commander.”

Alucius
smiled. “I know something about fighting. I fear that I’ll need your help in
other matters. I’ve had but a short stint running a small outpost and some
experience running a stead, but nothing like running a headquarters post.”

“That’s
what we’re here for, sir.”

“Good.”
Alucius offered a gentle laugh. “I’ll need all your expertise and advice.” He
paused. “Thank you again.”

“Glad
to be of service, sir. Now, tomorrow, we’ll be making sure that everything here
works as it should…”

“The
quarters are fine for now. I’m more concerned about the post, especially if
there were recommendations you made that were not taken.”

“There
were a few.” Komur smiled crookedly. “Some of them we managed anyway.”

“We’ll
talk tomorrow about the others,” Alucius promised.

“Yes,
sir.”

Komur
had barely left and closed the door when there was a knock.

Alucius
could sense Feran. “Come on in.”

The
older officer stepped inside and glanced around. “Nice quarters. I’ve never
been up here before.”

“Neither
had I,” Alucius admitted. “You’ll pardon me if I sit down.” He tried several
chairs, finally settling on an overstuffed armchair that looked
uncomfortable—and wasn’t.

Feran
sat across from him in a straight-backed chair.

“What
have you found out so far?” Alucius asked.

“Shalgyr
kept the ledgers, and he left them. He was probably running for his life.”

“I
wouldn’t have executed him,” Alucius said.

“I
know that. So did Shalgyr, probably, but he left anyway,” Feran said.

“So…
the mess is worse than we thought, and there’s someone else involved,” mused
Alucius. After a moment, he laughed. “I’m tired. Of course, there had to be
someone else involved, and it has to be one of the factors or traders. Or
several. Finding out who won’t be hard. Neither will proving that Weslyn was
corrupt. But I’d wager that there won’t be anything in the post that points
directly at anyone but Shalgyr and Weslyn, and that Shalgyr is either in
Lanachrona or already dead.”

“He
was smart enough to run and not try for the stables. Seven will get you ten
that he’s across the river and moving south.”

“We’re
going to have to review all the supply accounts, all the pay accounts… just
about everything. And count what’s in the strong room and certify it,” Alucius
said. “That’s just the beginning. I need to have personal talks with those
three—Komur, Sanasus, and Yusalt—but I wanted to read their files first.”

“Komur
and Sanasus seem solid enough. Yusalt doesn’t know much.”

“I
know. That bothers me,” Alucius held back a yawn. “But before I do that, we’ll
have to send dispatches to all posts, notifying them, and also saying that
Shalgyr is a fugitive.”

“I
told you that being commander wouldn’t be what anyone thought,” Feran said. “You’d
better use that Talent to keep looking over your shoulder—and everywhere else.”

“Now
look who’s being the cheerful one.”

“I’m
just telling you what I see.” Feran’s laugh was rueful.

“You’re
right.” Alucius stifled a yawn. “I’m not thinking that well. I need to get some
sleep.” If he could.

After
Feran left, Alucius unpacked his gear and washed out his dirty undergarments
and uniforms. He managed to find a dusty washtub and was thankful that there
was a pump in the kitchen. Only after that did he settle himself down at the
writing desk in the study off the sitting room and begin to write Wendra.

Dearest,

I
am at last back in the Iron Valleys and find myself as colonel and commander of
the Northern Guard. I fear matters here in Dekhron are far worse than any of us
had thought. The colonel and his deputy are dead. They tried to shoot me when I
presented the Lord-Protector’s dispatch accepting Colonel Weslyn’s resignation.

Their
reaction leaves me with some considerable concern about what I will discover in
the days ahead.